Calvin and Hobbes Creator Bill Watterson Returns for a Collaboration on Pearls Before Swine

The notoriously private creator of Calvin and Hobbes, Bill Watterson, made a brief reappearance in the funnies last week. Pearls Before Swine cartoonist Stephan Pastis revealed on his blog that the strips that ran from June 4-6 were a collaboration between himself and his idol Watterson, who famously ended Calvin and Hobbes back in 1995. On a whim, Pastis decided to email Watterson, who replied that he had an idea he wanted to run by him. The two began working together — only via email — and decided that they would conjure up a storyline where a second-grader named Libby (“Lib” sounds like “Bill” backwards) who lived across the street would show “Mr. Pastis” how it was done. The results (which can be seen here, here, and here) are as charming as you hoped they would be.